


A sub-zero deception

by got7stories



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Canon Compliant, Jealous Park Jinyoung | Jr., M/M, Pining, Plot Twists, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Im Jaebum | JB, Possessive Park Jinyoung | Jr., Winter, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 11:12:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14259705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/got7stories/pseuds/got7stories
Summary: After a concert in Busan, Jaebum and Jinyoung are left behind at the cold station to wait for the KTX, which may lead to them having a heart to heart.





	A sub-zero deception

**a sub-zero deception**

 

The concert in Busan was Park Jinyoung’s idea, not the little one, JYP himself. It was his idea of a present to the GOT7 boys, letting them hold a concert in each of the boys’ hometowns a year, at least. “Giving back,” were the “PD’s” exact words, selling the idea as if he was doing them all a great favour out of his kind nature. In his mind, Jaebum called it a whole lot of bullshit. It was written on no damn paper that they had to endure minus eleven degrees Celsius at six o’clock in the fucking morning after receiving their great “present” by being allowed to perform in front of ten thousand Busan inhabitants for three hours straight the night prior. They had no rest in between or even time to hang out with the family.

“What a load of bullshit,” Jinyoung said in heavy Busan _satoori_ three seats across from him at the train station, rubbing at his eyes while ever being Jaebum’s personal thought stealer.

Jaebum scoffed at Jinyoung’s effortlessness, obliviousness of doing so. He had read about it, about the power of a thought, if strong enough and shared by enough minds, being able to infest others telepathically.

By now, after all those years spent together, Jaebum had close to no doubt that he had that link to Jinyoung’s vulnerable mind – or Jinyoung to his – as cliché as it may sound, with all those soulmate trope fan theories put aside.

It was still dark; the sun hadn’t risen yet and it was starting to snow. Big flakes of crystal wafted in spirals before cold winds made them change directions and land on Jinyoung’s contrasting raven head. Weak illumination came from the clock and destination board and Jaebum watched with fascination how the first snowflakes of the year melted in Jinyoung’s hair, ignorant to the board’s information of their train’s delay of half an hour.

“I was going to say the same thing but I didn’t want to sound rude since it’s your hometown.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not rude because I know where your anger is directed at. What’s the whole point of these “hometown concerts,” if I can’t spend time with my family?”

“Stop stealing my thoughts.” Jaebum added a half-crooked smile to show a tiny bit of the great fondness he felt.

Jinyoung’s scowl was replaced by a pretty eye-smile in no-time and Jaebum was proud of himself that _he_ caused it. It reminded him of a much younger Jinyoung in a cheap, way too large training suit, standing across from him in a JYP dance practice room eight years and nine months ago, cheekily introducing himself as JYP, the former CEO. Jaebum had seen through the fib but hadn’t been able to see past the eye-smile.

“You mean, stop reading your mind.”

“Same to same.”

“Impossible. Why stop while I’m so good at it?” Jinyoung smirked and Jaebum scoffed again.

A particularly giant snowflake landed on Jinyoung’s bangs and it bothered Jaebum because Jinyoung didn’t even feel that it was there. Jaebum cursed in his mind, suppressing his urge to walk over and shake it out by driving his fingers through Jinyoung’s soft hair. Was it soft? He had no memory of it, but _fuck_ , it looked soft.

Jinyoung’s teeth clattered as a shiver shook his whole frame and the snow fell off his head. _Thank god_ , Jaebum thought relieved, but he shivered, too, as the same gust of wind hit him a second later and blurred his vision with more crystal flakes.

“ _Fuck_ , it’s so cold!” Jinyoung cursed loudly, a thing he avoided when in public but since there was no other soul in their near or far proximity, he let his tongue run wild. He usually did when he was alone with Jaebum and Jaebum liked how he was that one pillar of trust in the presence of whom Jinyoung could do whatever he wanted to and let go of his self-control. “ _There’s only five free seats in the van,_ they said… _whoever chooses the train will ride comfortably_ , they said. _The KTX is faster than the car_ , they said! Well, _fuck you_ , I say!”

Jaebum chuckled at his impersonations, one of Jinyoung’s favourite secret past-times. “You should really start some voice-acting stuff,” he said while blinking snow out of his lashes.

“Hyuuung,” Jinyoung whined. “That’s not my point. They didn’t tell us that we had to wait for the train in the cold.”

“I know what your point is.”

“Or that it comes with a delay!” Jinyoung said whatsoever.

“It’s delayed?” Jaebum looked at the board and saw the information. The reason was obvious; the unexpected snow storm. He was still surprised. “ _Fuck._ ”

“My point exactly,” said Jinyoung and Jaebum pitied him because he didn’t even sound triumphant. It was like all energy had left him. Jinyoung didn’t like the cold, he never was a winter’s boy, in contrast to the image he tried to keep up as Busan’s son. He gained energy from the sun as if he absorbed it like plants for photosynthesis. Jinyoung never said so, but Jaebum considered the hard winters part of the reason why Jinyoung left Busan for good. The islands of Busan had no great shelters to the raging ocean or blizzards in winter.

“You should have taken the van instead of another member. You had a choice and the Maknaes offered.”

“To let one of the babies freeze to death? _Not a chance._ ”

Jaebum grinned at his fierce expression.

“What’s so funny?” Jinyoung asked and shook his hair, in case Jaebum’s grin was directed at the ridiculous amount of snow on top of his head, which wasn’t the case because Jaebum found it bit by bit more adorable how he was becoming covered in white.

“ _Mother_ ,” Jaebum teased with the single word.

It took three seconds for Jinyoung’s ears to turn red, five for his whole face.

“Shut up,” Jinyoung said, hands automatically going up to surround his ears. The last time this happened Jaebum had mispronounced the word “sexy” by forgetting the “y.”

Jaebum laughed.

“You volunteered first, despite hating the cold.” That was another thing he and Jinyoung had in common.

“So? I’m the leader. I can’t let my team-mates suffer.”

“Oh, shut up.” Jinyoung repeated. “That was such a _dad_ -move.”

Jaebum didn’t feel offended by the teasing tone at all.

“So? Jinyoungah, you hate coldness more than me.”

Jinyoung winced, looking vulnerable at the one truth always known but never exposed between them. “I’m a man of Busan. My DNA is used to it.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you still hate it.”

Jinyoung averted his eyes and looked at the empty rails. “What would I have looked like, if I hadn’t followed your selfless example as another Hyung to the kids?”

“You’re not a Hyung to Mark and Jackson, though. They could have come instead.”

“You and I both know that they didn’t offer and I’m the 2nd oldest _Sunbae_ so, my choice was right.”

Jinyoung pulled that _Sunbae_ card in their little arguments, if nothing else worked. Jaebum rolled his eyes.

“Jinyoungah, you don’t have to act tough or _manly_ in front of me, I’m not your rival, you know that. You don’t have to follow my example. You don’t have to follow me anywhere. What if I make a mistake, would you follow that, too?”

Jinyoung sighed, a big puff of air left his cheeks and floated away in a white cloud, followed by smaller clouds of his constant breathing. “We’ve known each other for how long, Hyung? What? Eight or nine years? When will it get through your thick head that I’ll follow you _everywhere_?”

Jaebum’s heart fluttered. He was sitting on a rollercoaster and his heart did that jump it always did when he was at the highest peak and his body felt weightless just before rolling down at full speed. “Jinyoungah…” he gasped.

“Besides, why do you make it sound like you don’t like my presence? Is that it? Are you getting sick of me, Hyung? Would you rather have another member here-”

“Shut up.” This time, it was Jaebum who said it and Jinyoung went dead silent. Jaebum lifted a palm to massage a vein on his temples before speaking in a softer voice. “That’s not it. I like your presence.” _I like it so much, you have no idea._

“I’m sorry.” Jinyoung said instantly, looking at him with the gentlest eyes. “Of course, you do, Hyung. We’re JJ Project, after all.” He held one hand up to form a “J” with his fingers and didn’t lower it till Jaebum mirrored the action with an embarrassed smile. “I know your hero-instinct wants you to know all of your members are cosy and safe.”

Jaebum kept his silence because he didn’t want to admit that Jinyoung was stealing his thoughts _again_.

“Now, you’re being quiet because I’m right.”

_And again._

Jaebum closed his eyes, trying not to succumb to the numbness that crept up his body.

It was time to turn the attention back to Jinyoung. “What do you mean by you’d follow me _everywhere_?”

“Uh…” Jinyoung staggered. “That you’d terribly miss me anyway?”

Jaebum raised a sceptical eyebrow despite the truth of the words. “I would?”

“I mean,” Jinyoung proceeded. “If _I’m_ the mother, then _you’re_ the father and we both know that no daddy likes it when mommy isn’t around.”

Jaebum laughed from the depths of his stomach, which earned him a few snowflakes on his tongue and in his lungs, leading to him coughing up.

Jinyoung started to laugh at him by throwing his head back but soon started to sneeze uncontrollably as some flakes made it into his nostrils.

“Karma,” Jaebum teased but he didn’t mean it when he saw the red tip of Jinyoung’s nose, reminding him of Rudolph, the Reindeer.

His phone ringed. He took it out of his pocket to see BamBam’s name blinking at him in white letters on a dark background.

“Hyuuuuuuuuuuuuung!”

“Yeah, why?” he asked while taking a look at Jinyoung whose eyes turned as cold as their surroundings. It confused him.

“Hyung, it’s snowing!” BamBam said in his most enthusiastic voice.

“No kidding.”

“Hyung, it’s snowing! Oh, my god,” he heard Yugyeom repeat beside BamBam.

“Who is it?” Jinyoung asked, chewing his bottom lip.

“I know, baby.” Jaebum answered into the phone.

“Seriously, who is it?”

“Hyung, are you two all right? Are you in the train yet? Is it really more comfortable?” asked BamBam.

“No, it’s delayed. We’re still waiting outside so, I can’t tell.”

“WHAT? YOU’RE STILL WAITING? HAHAHA!”

“You little-” he almost cursed but stopped himself when he heard someone smack BamBam.

“Ow! Mark-hyung!”

“Bamah, didn’t your mama tell you not to laugh at someone else’s misfortune?” Jaebum heard Jackson say. _Bless them_ , he was glad the two elders were there to restrain the Maknaes.

“ _Bamah_ ,” he sighed a white cloud as his fingers went back to the pulsing vein on his temple. Jinyoung’s eyes melted at the name and a smile replaced the nervous chewing. _Interesting_. “Don’t fight with your Hyungs-”

“When have I _ever_ -”

“and listen to them.”

“All right, _dad_.”

“Is everyone else okay? How’s Youngjae doing?” he asked worriedly.

“Everyone’s fine. Youngjae-hyung is asleep, Yugyeom shoved a piece of _peppero_ up his nostrils when he started snoring.”

“Traitor!” He heard Yugyeom say.

“What? But it’s all right, ‘cause he didn’t feel anything,” BamBam chuckled, “and it stopped the snoring.”

Jaebum palmed his face. “Bamah, where is that piece now?”

“It’s still in there.”

“Oh, my god, you’re going to kill him,” he said and Jinyoung looked alarmed.

“What did he say?” Jinyoung asked.

“Relax, _dad_ , he’s breathing through his open mouth.”

“Bamah, pull it out. Right now.”

“ _Ew_ , no. it will be full of goo. And why me? It was Gyeomie who did it.”

“Then tell Gyeomie to pull it out, _right now_.”

“Pull _what_ out?” Jinyoung said.

“Yo, YG! _Dad_ said you have to pull the _peppero_ back out.”

“Aw man, but he’s so quiet right now. He’ll start snoring again, if I do.”

“Believe me, you don’t want to know.” Jaebum whispered to Jinyoung while listening to the conversation on the phone.

“Oh, my god, it’s finally happening, the kids are killing each other.” Jinyoung went pale. “I should have gone with them. Oh, my god, I can’t breathe.”

“I don’t wanna know what?”

“Not you, Bamah, wait a sec. Rudolph here is hyperventilating. Jinyoungah, relax, for god’s sake, they’re _fine_.”

“How can I relax, if you’re not going to tell me what’s going on!”

“Rudolph who?”

“I meant your Jinyoung-hyung. His nose is as red as Rudolph’s.” Jaebum said with a grin.

“Hey! It’s not,” Jinyoung complained and held onto his nose.

“Jinyoungie-hyung? HAHAHAHA! Yo YG, Jinyoungie-hyung’s nose is as red as Rudolph’s. Thank god we didn’t take the KTX!”

“AHAHAHA! High five!”

Jaebum heard both of them being smacked.

“Ouch! Mark-hyung, stop that!” He heard twin screams.

“Bamah, Gyeomah, didn’t your mamas tell you not to laugh at someone else’s misfortune?” He heard Jackson repeat.

“Sorry,” they said, but sounded madder than apologetic.

“Bamah, give the phone to Gyeomie for a sec.”

“Okay, bye _dad_. Keep Jinyoungie-hyung warm.”

“Hey, why am I _dad_ and he’s your _Jinyoungie-hyung_?” Jaebum accused.

“Aw, Bam said that? My precious baby;” Jinyoung said.

Jaebum shook his head.

“What, Hyung, would you rather like it, if I called him _mommy_?”

“That’s not-”

“ _All right, dad, keep mommy warm, okay? Lob wou,_ ” he said in a baby voice.

Warmth flooded Jaebum’s face.

“What did he say?” asked Jinyoung, starting to chew his bottom lip again.

“JJ Project forever!” screamed Yugyeom into the phone.

Jaebum palmed his face again. “Gyeomah, did you pull that thing out of Youngjae’s nose?”

“He did _what_?” said Jinyoung.

“Not yet,” said Yugyeom.

“Do it right now, you hear me? _Right now_.”

“Aw, all right,” Yugyeom said sadly. “But can I shove it back when he starts snoring?”

“No, you can’t.”

“Okay, okay. Can I upload a picture of it on Insta at least?”

“ _No, you can’t_.”

“Aw, Hyung, you’re no jam.”

“Don’t shove it anywhere else, either. Throw it away. Don’t fight with BamBam.”

“I’m not!”

“Good boy. Tell Manager-hyung to drive safely, the streets will be slippery at this point. No need to rush. I’ll see you at the dorm, okay?”

“Okay, _dad_.” Jaebum hated it when BamBam rubbed off on Yugyeom.

“You… I’ll see you at the dorm.” This time, Jaebum said it in a menacing tone.

“Give _mommy_ a kiss on his Rudolph-nose from me, ba-bye!” Yugyeom laughed at the other end. Before he hung up, Jaebum heard the other boys whooping and whistling, to his utter horror.

“I’m going to kill him,” Jaebum said while gnashing his teeth and jutting his chin.

“No, you’re not,” said Jinyoung before sneezing again.

At the sight of Jinyoung, Jaebum’s jaw loosened. “Are we breathing normally again, Rudolph?”

“No,” Jinyoung sniffed, rubbing the snot at his nose-tip away. The fact that he didn’t tell Jaebum to stop calling him by that name spoke for his lack of energy. “I hate this weather.”

“I know,” Jaebum said fondly.

“Distract me. What did the kids say? What did Yugyeom shove up Youngjae’s nose?”

“A piece of _peppero_. He said it stopped him from snoring. Don’t worry, I took care of it. Everyone else is fine. Kids these days, I tell you,” Jaebum had to laugh. “If you think about it, it’s actually pretty funny, but don’t ever tell him I said that-what? Why are you looking at me like _that_?”

Jinyoung blinked his eyes and shook his head. “Nothing. You’re such a good dad.”

It took Jaebum’s breath away for a moment. _Why did everybody call him that?_

“What did BamBam tell you that made you blush just like that?”

“Nothing, I didn’t,” he denied immediately.

“Come on, don’t be embarrassed. You can tell me.”

“All right,” he decided carefully. “He said he _lobed_ me.”

“Cute,” said Jinyoung without any feeling behind it. “That’s it?”

“Yup, that’s it,” Jaebum lied. Jinyoung was chewing on his bottom lip. “Are you jealous?”

“Who? Me?” Jinyoung scoffed. “Nooo.”

“Okay. When I called Yugyeom _baby_ and you kept chewing on your bottom lip just like this, because you didn’t know who I was talking to, were you _then_ jealous?”

Jinyoung released his bottom lip. “I wasn’t,” he said.

“Right,” Jaebum said. “Then, why did you only smile, when you heard me say BamBam’s name?”

“Because I missed the kids and I was glad they were calling?”

“Fair enough,” Jaebum nodded. He started to doubt his theory and lose hope.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“The train’s delayed for another twenty minutes.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Jaebum said after looking at the board.

“It’s so fucking cold.”

“You already said that.” Jaebum reminded him.

“So? Nothing has changed, it’s still freezing.”

“Hmm.” Jaebum thought for a while. He pondered whether he should or shouldn’t offer. But then, BamBam’s words, _dad, keep mommy warm,_ kept replaying in his mind like a short film and he thought, _fuck it._ He was freezing, too. “You know, you could always come over here and share some body-”

Jinyoung jumped to his feet before Jaebum finished his sentence. “ _God_ , I thought you would never ask.”

“-warmth.” _Okay._ He zipped his long, padded jacket open and opened his arms despite the sudden coldness hitting his chest, welcoming Jinyoung to sit beside him, so they could side-hug.

Jinyoung had another intention. Mirroring his action by unzipping his own padded jacket, Jinyoung climbed on top of his lap with each heavy and warm, warm, _warm_ thigh trapping his hips on both sides.

“ _Wow, wow, wow,_ ” he managed to let out. What he was thinking, was a row of _fuck, fuck, fuck_. Jinyoung’s dizzying warmth was meddling with his brain.

“Hey, _daddy_ ,” Jinyoung murmured in that low velvety voice he reserved for sexy stage performances but _never_ used on Jaebum. “What took you so long to ask me over?”

_Well, that escalated quickly._ Jaebum clenched his jaw tightly and gulped heavily but managed to choke up on his own spit. He felt his blood rush _everywhere_ but at this point, he didn’t care. His whole being was suddenly focusing on Jinyoung’s arms wrapping around his torso inside his jacket and rubbing soothing circles on his back. First, Jinyoung’s palms were ice-cold but soon, they warmed up, reflected his own body-warmth and felt cosy. “Jinyoungaaah,” he whined. “I’m not good at reading signs. If you wanted to come over, you should have done so from the beginning. I don’t understand why you were sitting so far away to begin with.”

Jinyoung didn’t look into his eyes, he was looking on top of Jaebum’s head and retrieved one hand to drive his fingers through Jaebum’s hair, shaking snow-flakes off. “I’ve wanted to do this since it started snowing.” He explained, not answering Jaebum’s first question but showing Jaebum that they had shared the same thoughts yet again. He pulled Jaebum’s hood up and smiled before sneaking his arm back into Jaebum’s jacket. “There you go.”

Jaebum stroked the new snow out of Jinyoung’s hair, too, it _was_ soft. He also pulled his hood up before he dared to put his arms around Jinyoung, hugging him softly. “Answer me.”

“It had to be you to initiate it. You had to want it, too, Hyung.” Jinyoung said and he was avoiding Jaebum’s eyes by looking at his lips this time, his _lips_. Jaebum thought he was going crazy.

“Why, Jinyoung? Why are you doing this to me? I’m bad at mind-games and you know that. I always feel like I’m on an emotional rollercoaster when I talk to you. Why can’t you be straight-forward with me for once and say what you want? I’m dying here.” It was completely quiet besides the pulse that Jaebum heard in his ears, the wind that piped past them and Jinyoung’s little breaths in his face that he shared like indirect kisses.

Jinyoung only looked up for a second, meeting his eyes, longer he didn’t dare. “That’s not true,” he continued to use a tranquil murmur. “You’re good at mind-games, good at puzzles and riddles. You always have been, Hyung. You read me so easily, like no one else. Hyung, you knew immediately, when I was… jealous.”

Jaebum was blown away. “ _Ha,_ ” he croaked. “So, I was right. Why did you lie to me?”

Jinyoung undid his arms around Jaebum’s torso and Jaebum wanted to scream _no_ , but he wrapped them around Jaebum’s neck instead so, Jaebum stayed quiet and observed how Jinyoung’s eyes wandered from his mouth to his nose but not up to his eyes. “Because you’re easily bored, if it’s no push-and-pull for you, Hyung. I had to keep it interesting for you and I’m afraid, now you’ll lose it, because now, I’m _easy_.” Jinyoung sighed sadly and Jaebum thought Jinyoung would kiss him then but instead, Jinyoung’s face moved past his own and Jaebum felt him lean his chin on one of Jaebum’s shoulders.

“I hate when you do that,” Jaebum said and moved his arms into Jinyoung’s jacket to hug his frame directly without the padding in between, gaining strength from the welcoming warmth of the hard muscles. They both hissed at the contact.

“What, Hyung?”

“When you assume things that aren’t true. You’re _the_ most difficult person I know. I prefer straight answers over beating around the bush, and I will _never_ lose interest in you.”

“That’s what you’re saying _now_. Because my warmth is meddling with your brain.”

“Stop stealing my thoughts, damn it. I hate that, too.”

Jinyoung chuckled in his ear. “Don’t worry, Hyung. Yours is meddling with mine, too.”

Jaebum was getting dizzier by the minute. “You know what else I hate?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“I hate when you pretend that you don’t know how long we’ve known each other.”

“Hmm?” Jinyoung said bewildered and pulled back to face him.

It was Jaebum’s turn to avert his eyes. “What do you mean by “eight or nine years?” How can you act like you forgot the day and how we met each other? How can you not know that it’s been eight years, nine months, twenty-eight days and-” Jaebum looked at his wrist, “twenty hours since we met? Not that anyone has been counting.”

“Hyung,” Jinyoung gasped and Jaebum looked back up to see his watery eyes.

“Jinyoungah,” he breathed.

“It’s been nineteen hours and 20 minutes, by the way,” Jinyoung sniffed, also looking at Jaebum’s wrist-watch. “Not that anyone has been counting,” he repeated and they both laughed warmly into each other’s faces. “You looked ridiculous.”

“Thanks. You looked quite hideous, too. Like I said, stop pretending that you don’t know.”

“I didn’t want to sound creepy.”

“Did I sound creepy to you?”

“No,” Jinyoung shook his head. “Maybe a little bit.” He corrected himself.

Jaebum smiled, “well, thanks,” he said again but was glad Jinyoung smiled back at him. “Now, tell me what you want.” He tightened his arms around Jinyoung till their chests touched and they both sighed when their nipples brushed against each other, but it didn’t last long.

“I can’t.” Jinyoung said while putting distance between them, looking down at Jaebum’s stomach that he was starting to caress in slow strokes with both palms, sensing the ripples of Jaebum’s abs underneath his hoodie. It was driving Jaebum insane.

“Why not?” Jaebum asked and held his breath.

“It’s too embarrassing.”

“What’s so embarrassing? Are you the same confident man that climbed up my lap just a moment ago?”

“Hey,” Jinyoung gave his chest a shove before palming his own face. “Please don’t ever retell it like that.”

Jaebum laughed. “It must be your lucky day then,” he said and slid his hands into the back-pockets of Jinyoung’s jeans, grabbing each ass-cheek with a confidence boost. Surprisingly, Jinyoung seemed wholly unperturbed by the action, as if the hands had always belonged there. “Because I know exactly what you want.”

“You… you do?” Jinyoung asked in a low whisper, looking shocked and exposed.

“Yeah, you’ve been staring at my lips for quite some time now. You want a kiss.”

“Oh… that.” Jinyoung looked disappointed but he refocused his eyes on Jaebum’s lips.

“What do you mean by _oh… that_?” Jaebum asked as his victory grin faded away. “You don’t want to kiss me? Oh _god_ , and here I thought-”

“Stop, stop, _stop!_ ” Jinyoung said and put a palm over Jaebum’s mouth. “Don’t flip. I want to… kiss you, Hyung.”

Jaebum sighed in relief, kissing the inside of Jinyoung’s palm in gratitude and to show that he felt the same way. Jinyoung, however, pulled his palm away, as if electrocuted.

“I’ve always wanted to kiss you. It’s just that that is only the innocent version of what I want to do with you.” Jinyoung leaned closer then, if possible, just a hair’s breadth away and whispered, “ _I’m afraid my mind is far too dirty for you, Hyung._ ”

Jaebum let his Adam’s apple bop with another gulp, hungry for and mesmerized at every word that left Jinyoung’s luscious lips. “I like dirty. Please, tell me all of your dirty little secrets.”

“Of course, you do, Hyung,” Jinyoung chuckled and leaned his chin back on Jaebum’s shoulder, bringing his tempting lips out of reach.

“Jinyoungah, _please_ ,” Jaebum begged and squeezed the cheeks under his fingers in warning, burying his nails into the material of the jeans.

“ _Ah_ ,” Jinyoung moaned and hit his shoulder in retaliation. “That _hurt_ ,” he said and sounded embarrassed but Jaebum was too high up in the clouds by that single moan to be sorry.

“ _Jinyoungah_ , come on, tell me.”

“Nope.”

Jaebum was truly pissed at this point. “All right, then, get off,” he said and pulled his hands away from Jinyoung’s body.

“No!” Jinyoung made a 180 degrees turn and held onto Jaebum’s hands, desperate to put them back around himself. “See, I told you! It’s always push-and-pull for you. This is why I have trust issues with you, Hyung.”

Jaebum turned apologetic eyes on him and hugged him again, tightening his arms till warmth was rebuilt between their chests. “Sorry.”

Jinyoung sniffed. “I never know if you like me or not. I sometimes think you do, but then you do things like this and I just don’t know anymore.”

“You know I have a short temper, _Jinyoungah_ , and you’re the only one patient enough to deal with it. I’m bad at expressing my feelings,” he said, “but you know me the best.”

“I know,” Jinyoung admitted, sounding proud as both of his hands rubbed at Jaebum’s chest between them, teasing Jaebum’s nipples at an excruciating pace. Jaebum’s heart was beating erratically and it was impossible for Jinyoung not to notice. So, he decided to play with an open deck.

“Do you also know what they say about the first snow of the year and confessions?”

Jinyoung inhaled noisily. “I do. You’ve been watching too many dramas, Hyung.”

“Just as many as you have. Anyway, do you want me to confess to you?”

Jinyoung looked like he stopped breathing for a moment. “I… I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want, Hyung.”

“All right,” Jaebum said and Jinyoung turned his face away.

“Hey,” Jaebum took a deep breath. “I hope you never forget this day, Jinyoungah.” He pulled one of his hands up to Jinyoung’s frozen face, turned it back and caressed it with shivering fingers. “ _I love you._ ”

Fat tears rolled down Jinyoung’s cheeks in pearls as sobs shook his body on Jaebum’s lap. Jaebum caught the tears with his thumbs and wiped them away as softly as he could. “Why are you crying?” He asked desperately. _Oh god, I fucked everything up._

“You didn’t only confess to hear my dirty secrets, did you?” Jinyoung asked between sobs.

Jaebum smacked him on the head. “No, you idiot.”

Jinyoung pulled Jaebum’s hoodie off his head and buried his wet face into the juncture that connected Jaebum’s neck with his shoulder. “I hate you,” he whispered against the skin before he bit into it.

That stung, the words and the action both. “I know you don’t mean that.”

“Look what you’ve done to me,” Jinyoung whined as he pulled back. “I’m a complete mess!”

Jaebum continued wiping at his face with his sweater-paws. “You look lovely to me.”

“Stop saying the l-word.”

“Why can’t you say it, too?” He asked in return when dread made his voice tremble. “D-don’t you l-love me, too?” _Oh god._ “Don’t you like me? Romantically?”

Jinyoung took Jaebum’s face into his hands and made Jaebum just look up when his thick, blue lips were about to crash against Jaebum’s own. “ _God_ , sometimes you’re just so frustratingly _stupid_ , Hyung.” A long trail of spit was connecting them before Jaebum turned it around his tongue and went in for a deeper kiss, licking his way into Jinyoung’s hot mouth, feeling the dents, the rough and the smooth surfaces till he saved every bit of discovery in a mental map. What almost made him see the stars behind closed lids was when Jinyoung’s lithe tongue gave his own experimental strokes. He moaned loudly into the kiss, which encouraged Jinyoung to give his tongue a real massage. _Fuck, that feels good._ Jaebum was sure that he was going to come in his pants when Jinyoung sucked at his tonsils and made all those noises that echoed his own.

Jaebum pulled back in alarm, letting them catch their breath. “ _Jinyoungah_ …” he panted.

“I love you, too. I’ve loved you longer, Hyung. Don’t ever doubt me.”

Jaebum smiled shyly at Jinyoung but its brightness reached his eyes and he could do nothing to suppress his inner glow. He had the urge to lift Jinyoung up and do high air-jumps with him because he felt like he was floating.

“How can I believe that you’ve loved me longer when I’ve loved you from the first day we’ve met? Why did you never say something?”

“I could say the same thing to you!” Jinyoung complained and hit his chest. “I’ve loved you since the first day we’ve met, too and you’ve never said anything to me, either.”

For the second time that morning, Jinyoung managed to take his breath away.

“I still bet I’ve loved you at least ten minutes longer. Because it has taken ten minutes for your eyes to meet mine across the practice room.”

Jaebum laughed, he couldn’t remember the last time he was this happy, frustration about the coldness completely forgotten and gone. “Come here,” he said and tilted his head to the side, letting Jinyoung connect their lips at a perfect angle, which Jinyoung thankfully did not a second later. Kissing Jinyoung quickly became addicting with all the sensations; tastes, wet noises, Jinyoung’s mysterious scent, _warmth_ and the elating emotion Jaebum felt in the pit of his stomach that reminded him of riding a rollercoaster.

“One week less,” Jinyoung panted against his face as he pulled away all too soon.

“What,” Jaebum said drunkenly. He wanted to connect their mouths over and over again, searching blindly for that heavenly ambrosia that made him so drunk. But his spit-coated and swollen lips connected solely to cold air.

“You’ve loved me one week and ten minutes less,” Jinyoung insisted.

“How come?”

“Don’t think I don’t know that you’ve fallen in love with that girl in your week at laws of the jungle.”

“Who? Solbin?”

“Fuck who?”

“ _God_ , even your jealousy is turning me on.”

Jinyoung climbed off his lap. “You even remember her name, I thought you had the decency to pretend not to know anymore.”

“Don’t go away,” Jaebum held onto both of his hands. “It wasn’t love, it was a short… infatuation.”

“I don’t want to talk to you right now, Hyung. Don’t talk to me.”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know how you felt about me back then. And I was missing everyone, I was missing _you_. I was lonely and she was just there. It was nothing serious! I didn’t even confess to her.”

“Wow,” Jinyoung scoffed. “While I was here, taking care of our _kids_ , you _know_ how loud they can be, missing you like _crazy_ , _every day_ , crying myself to sleep _every night_ while _pining_ after you,-”

“You did? _God_ , I love you even more now.”

Jinyoung ignored him and continued, “- _you_ wrote a song about her!”

“I’m sorry,” Jaebum said and stroked Jinyoung’s back of hands with his thumbs. “But all the songs I ever wrote were about you.”

Jinyoung’s eyes narrowed down, half in mistrust, half in persuasion. “Liar,” he said eventually.

“Look, I feel really bad about the infatuation, and about some things I said about you in my songs,” he said in sympathy. “I don’t deserve you, Jinyoungah.”

“Don’t you _Jinyoungah_ me,” Jinyoung complained but let himself be pulled back into Jaebum’s arms. “What about that Nuna you fell for during your stay at Jeju for the show Romantic and Idol?”

“Who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jinyoung’s eyes narrowed again, followed by a smirk. “Nice try. Oh Seung Ah from Rainbow.”

“Oh, _that_.”

“Yeah, _that_.”

“It was just one week for the show.”

“Yeah, one week of hell for me, followed by another three weeks of hell for me, in which you guys texted each other even after the show.”

“First of all, I’m really sorry, Jinyoungah. It was a long time ago. Second, how did you know at that time?”

“I know everything. You think I didn’t notice how your phone buzzed off every five minutes after you returned and how you smiled so stupidly? It wasn’t hard to connect the dots.”

“Is that why you reminded me of our contract and how it forbade us to date at that time?”

“Yeah,” Jinyoung admitted in a small voice. “It was the only way I knew how to make it stop.”

“I’m so mad at you right now.”

Jinyoung looked down at his feet and pouted, lower lip protruding. “I’m sorry I’m so petty.”

“That’s not why I’m mad. I love your stupid pettiness and your jealousy.” Jaebum pulled him back down into his lap and kissed his pout away. “You could have saved us so much damn time, if you just had said anything! You know how long I thought that you were stuck-up because of that stunt? I was so scared that you would tattle and I would lose my job. Worse even, _you_!”

“I would never tattle on you, Hyung. You have to trust me on that. Why do you think I kept my mouth shut even before that, when you dated that waitress?”

“I never dated a waitress.”

Jinyoung’s eyes narrowed yet again. “Ahjushi, that train passed a long time ago. You dated that waitress we met during our JJP diary days for two months.”

“Oh, _that_ waitress. I dated her only for one month, though.”

“Now, you remember. The worst thing was, you met her while you were on a date with me, and it was two months, Hyung.”

“But I didn’t date you back then. We just went out to eat at a restaurant. I had no idea about your feelings.”

“It was a real date to me. Even the one who wrote the subs to our show thought so. Do you know how much you hurt me by telling me how she was just your type, Hyung? Why do you think I stood up and left for the bathroom?”

“That _was_ very confusing. I thought it was a joke. I didn’t dare to hope you reciprocated my feelings. So, I thought, why not date the waitress who looks just like you?”

“You’re making that up as we speak.”

“I’m serious! I swear to god, she was the female version of you. I stopped dating her when I realised her personality was the complete opposite of yours.”

The blush in Jinyoung’s ears intensified. “May that as it be, you loved me three months, one week and ten minutes less.”

“I didn’t stop loving you while I saw those girls, you fool. I wasn’t in love with any of them, either. They were short infatuations, if anything. They don’t even compare. You can’t even compare them to… us. They didn’t even come close to anything as deep and _intense_ as we had, and that is the relationship I’m talking about before I thought a _romantic we_ was possible.”

“Are we,” Jaebum felt the hair on his nape being stroked by Jinyoung’s cold fingers, “a romantic possibility?”

Jaebum gasped at the sensation, trying to recollect his sanity. “Depends. Do you still have that crush on Yubin-nuna?”

Jinyoung grinned. “That was ages ago, why do you remember such a thing?”

“Why do you remember the waitress? It’s not much different. Do you?”

“No. The crush was a joke. To make you jealous.”

Jaebum was stunned. “Oh.”

“So, it’s different from the waitress story. Wow, you really thought I liked her and you brooded over it all these years?”

“No, I just felt sorry for you every time you two stood in the same room. Thinking how it hurt your feelings because she obviously didn’t feel the same way.”

Jinyoung surprised him with a sudden kiss, the coldness in his lips not making him feel much anymore.

“What was that for?”

“Hmm,” sighed Jinyoung. “Nothing, you were just cute.”

Jaebum’s face and ears grew hot in blots.

“So, you felt sorry for me, even though you liked me back then, too?”

“Yeah, of course. I wanted you to be happy, Jinyoungah.”

This earned him another kiss and by the time Jinyoung was done with him, the iciness of his lips was replaced by Jinyoung’s warmth. “Why do you have to be so damn perfect?” Jinyoung mumbled against his mouth, breath still hot.

“I’m not. I’m petty, just like you,” he whispered back, searching for Jinyoung’s eyes, which had a glassy sheen over them, reflecting his own smitten but sad features. “I also remember and think about all the girls you had contact with, all the actresses you connected those sinful lips to,” he brushed his fingers over Jinyoung’s lips and only retracted them when Jinyoung gave them kitten licks.

“That was just acting, Hyung. There was _nothing_.”

“I just wish you didn’t text me every time before your next kissing scene. Do you think I didn’t die a thousand deaths every time you kissed someone else? For me and everybody else to witness on the TV or cinema screen for years to come?”

Jinyoung inhaled a sharp breath. “I didn’t know. I wanted to make you jealous, Hyung. But deep down, I also wanted your permission. However, you only ever texted me back to have fun! Why did you never tell me that it _did_ bother you, Hyung?”

“ _That_ was your way of asking me for my… permission? _Oh, Jinyoung._ ”

“Yeah, do you know how many times I hoped for you to stop me, Hyung? For a slither of a sign that you didn’t want me to go ahead and do it? For you to claim me as yours, to tell me that I’m yours and nobody else is allowed to touch me? I wanted you to act possessive, Hyung, like you always do with your belongings. I was disappointed every time that didn’t happen.”

Jaebum gulped through a knot in his throat as he continued to stare up at Jinyoung’s glassy eyes. His own eyes felt wet, too, unshed tears freezing on his lashes to become crystals. “How could I claim you when I had no right? When I was nothing but your Hyung that you worked and lived with? While you were that fucking ethereal prince from the dramas that the whole nation longed for? That acting prince about whose handsomeness, both, boys and girls talked about like you belonged to them?”

Jinyoung averted his eyes shyly but continued to stroke through Jaebum’s hair, making him relax unconsciously. “That’s not true.”

“How could I claim you when I don’t deserve you?”

“You’re right, Hyung. You don’t deserve me,” he sniffed as Jaebum’s heart plummeted into his stomach.

“How can you agree with me?” Jaebum questioned as he buried his face into Jinyoung’s narrow shoulder. “You’re supposed to argue with me and tell me that I _do_ deserve you, Jinyoungah,” Jaebum mumbled and cried against the material of Jinyoung’s hoodie, drying his wet eyes and ice crystals there, when the tears overflowed.

“No, you don’t deserve me, Hyung,” Jinyoung said wetly. “But I deserve _you_.” Jinyoung was biting into his lower lip when Jaebum lifted his head to look up through his blurred vision. He couldn’t believe his ears, couldn’t express the gratitude and relief that flooded him other than to give Jinyoung open-mouthed kisses everywhere his lips could reach.

 “What did you say?” Jaebum had to grin.

“I deserve you, Hyung” Jinyoung repeated. “I deserve your perfect-stupid face,” Jinyoung said and caressed it. “I deserve your pretty sharp jaw, I deserve your stupid, gorgeous twin moles.” Jinyoung pressed his fingers under Jaebum’s left eyebrow. “I deserve your broad as fuck shoulders to hug and protect me.” He gently stroked them above Jaebum’s padded jacket and Jaebum hiccoughed. “I deserve your illegal abs,” Jinyoung whispered and leaned down to trace them with his fingers. Jaebum let him do all of it without interrupting him, staying stock-still in wonder. “And I _deserve_ all of your goddamn attention.”

“But you already have that, baby.” Jaebum murmured. “I’m all yours.”

“Really?” Jinyoung asked in a small, sad voice.

Jaebum’s arms around him retightened. “Of course, baby.”

“I like it when you call me _baby_ ,” Jinyoung said, squeezing around Jaebum’s hips with his burning thighs.

“ _Fuck_ , I’ll call you anything you want to make you happy.”

“I actually like anything you call me by, Hyung. Tell me again that you lo-”

“That I lo- what?”

Jinyoung gave him a shove. “You know what.”

“I want you to say it,” Jaebum grinned.

“Tell me you love me.”

“I love you.” Jaebum sighed. “ _God_ , I love you so much.” He said and stroked Jinyoung’s back while burying his nose into Jinyoung’s neck. Jinyoung smelled like nothing Jaebum could remember.

“Again,” Jinyoung moaned.

“ _Baby_ , I only love you.”

“That’s all I ever wanted to hear from you, Hyung,” Jinyoung said before involving Jaebum in another fierce kiss that fed on Jaebum’s sanity.

They only disconnected when their lungs screamed for much-needed air and even then, it was involuntarily with Jinyoung throwing him a look that he could perfectly read. Jinyoung’s look said; _you are the centre of my universe, you hung up the stars, the sun and the moon for me._ It reminded him of his own gaze that he threw at Jinyoung.

“You know what I deserve the most, Hyung?” Jinyoung asked innocently between puffs of air.

“What, baby?”

Jinyoung leaned impossibly closer, till his wet lips directly touched Jaebum’s pierced shell of ear, making him shiver. “I deserve your pretty lips around my cock and your delicate fingers deep inside of me.”

Another shiver followed the first one right after and Jaebum cursed as his breath left him in a whimper. “ _Fuuuck._ Is that the dirty thing you’ve been wanting to do with me?”

Jinyoung nodded shyly. How he managed to do that in such a manner after using those dirty words was beyond Jaebum.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Jaebum repeated, “I’m all game. Let’s do it.”

Jinyoung chuckled, his eyes crinkled in that typical pattern that Jaebum remembered from their very first meeting and immediately liked so much about him. “Not now, Hyung,” Jinyoung said and hit at his chest, climbing off his lap as a distant hoot became louder and louder.

“Why?” He whined. “You can’t just make me all frenzied,” he pointed at his empty lap with both hands, “and then disappear.”

Jinyoung gripped him by the nape and connected their mouths a last time, sucking at his tongue till it hurt. When Jinyoung pulled away, he continued looking at Jaebum with unmasked admiration and the image burned itself into Jaebum’s mind. “Because the train’s here in a bit, and you have to wake up, Hyung.”

“Very funny. Thanks to you, I’m _wide_ awake now.”

Jinyoung laughed as he put more distance between them by taking steps backwards. “Come on, Hyung.”

Jaebum grew worried when Jinyoung stepped closer to the rails. “Jinyoungah, be careful.”

“Hyung, I’ll jump, if you don’t wake up.”

Jaebum wanted to stand up but his body felt too numb all over. “What do you mean, Jinyoung? This is not funny anymore. I’m wide awake. Stop, right there,” he said in warning.

The hoot grew louder still, as did the panic in Jaebum’s chest.

“You say that, but you won’t stand up, Hyung.” Jinyoung was swinging one leg over the free rails.

“Jinyoungah, I’m scared. Come back, please,” he begged. “I’m scared, Jinyoungah.”

Jinyoung was balancing his weight on one leg by stretching out both arms. “You don’t have to be scared, Hyung. All you have to do, is, wake up.”

Jaebum’s throat tightened when he looked to the right and saw the approaching train. “I’m scared, Jinyoungah. Come back. I’ll do anything you want me to.”

“Open your eyes, Hyung,” said Jinyoung, then he lost his footing. The train hit him full force.

Jaebum’s vision blurred with tears of heartbreak. He screamed. “JINYOUNGAH!”

“Hyung, wake up.”

Jaebum opened his eyes.

The wind of the snow-storm was piping past his ears. Fingers were brushing ice-cold tears under his lashes away. He turned his face to see everything was covered even more in white and the navy sky turned into a shade of a lighter blue as far as he could see past the fog of grey clouds.

He turned his face back and saw Jinyoung standing in front of him, alive, looking a little blue in the lips, red in the ears and very worried all over.

“Hyung, you can’t just succumb to sleep in this weather. We’ve got minus infinite degrees Celsius, it’s fucking dangerous. People die of hypothermia like this.”

Jaebum saw him move his lips, understood the words he was speaking but not the content of the message, because it wasn’t his Jinyoung that spoke and held his attention anymore. It was a different one.

He let his Adam’s apple bob as he gulped spit down his dry throat. “What was the last thing that I said to you?”

Jinyoung chewed on his lips, an all too familiar sight. “You kept saying my name and that you were scared, Hyung.”

Jaebum sighed in frustration. “Not now. Before I… fell asleep, what was the last thing that I said?”

“You said that you liked my presence. Then, I said, of course you do because we’re JJ Project, after all and I told you that I knew your hero-instinct wanted you to know all our members were cosy and safe. I thought you kept quiet because I was right, but I didn’t know you were so tired that you actually fell asleep.”

_Oh, god._

Everything was a dream, a beautiful, horrible daydream. The phone call, the confession, the kisses, the way Jinyoung stared at him, the pain, even the shared body-warmth that felt so _real_ ; nothing was true. Jaebum brought his fingers up to touch his own lips; no kiss-swollen flesh, only a thin line.

Jaebum had never felt so cold in his life. He shivered down his spine, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

However, Jinyoung was still alive, and that was the only good but most important thing that the end of that dream brought.

“Hyung, you were crying. Was it such a bad dream?” Jinyoung asked while making an attempt to go away and retake his place three seats across from him.

Jaebum held onto his hands for dear life, squeezing hard. Jinyoung’s fingers were warmer than his own. “Yes, it was a nightmare.”

“Oh,” Jinyoung said and gave him a veiled smile, squeezing his fingers back confidently. “Glad I woke you up, then.”

Jaebum gave him a calculating look, pondering whether he should expose his vulnerable side. “You died in it,” he said finally.

Jinyoung gasped.

“So, please, Jinyoungah, don’t go away from me for a while,” he bared his worry.

“Oh, Hyung.” Jinyoung pulled out of Jaebum’s hands and took him by the nape, hugging Jaebum’s face into his padded stomach. The contact was a familiar, yet strange sensation at the same time. “It was just a dream. I’m right here. I’ll always be by your side, Hyung.”

Jaebum fisted the soft padding of Jinyoung’s jacket. “Jinyoungah, I’m really cold. Will you sit on my lap and warm me up?”

He looked up through his frozen lashes and didn’t miss the careful look Jinyoung gave him. He couldn’t help but compare it to the burned-in image of unmasked admiration in the eyes of dream-Jinyoung. The difference couldn’t be bigger, but Jinyoung gave in to his wish with another veiled smile. “Open up your jacket, Hyung.”

Jaebum did as told with jittering fingers while Jinyoung did the same with his own jacket, pulling down the zip. When Jinyoung placed each of his heavy thighs on either side of Jaebum’s lap and _real_ warmth seeped into Jaebum’s body instantly, his jaw dropped in a soundless groan. Jinyoung’s arms surrounded his shoulders and fingers dug into his padded blades, while Jinyoung tried to find a comfortable position as he whipped from side to side. Jaebum ended the torture and brought Jinyoung to a standstill by burying his arms into Jinyoung’s jacket, hugging his body aggressively with chest connecting to chest, heartbeat against heartbeat. Jinyoung’s was beating faster.

“ _Fuck_ , why are you so warm?”

“I told you, I’m a man of Busan. My DNA-”

“Is used to it, I know,” finished Jaebum. He nuzzled Jinyoung’s pulse-point at the juncture of his neck to seek for more of his captivating warmth. For the first time that morning, he could tell what Jinyoung smelled like, because this was real. He had a penetrating sweet scent of an old, masculine perfume. It made Jaebum feel imbalanced to the core, it was a good thing he was seated.

“But _fuck_ , why are you so ice-cold, Hyung?” Jinyoung hissed and moved his hands to rub the length of Jaebum’s shoulders before he pulled at Jaebum’s hair-strands, grip tense but also keeping Jaebum’s head in place to offer more warmth.

“Not everyone is privileged enough to share your cold-resistant, superior DNA,” he mumbled into Jinyoung’s skin, his breath dampening the spot.

Jinyoung either laughed awkwardly or whimpered, Jaebum couldn’t tell. “With broad as fuck shoulders as yours, you’d think you’d be able to produce a little bit of heat at least, but no…” They stayed like that for good five minutes with Jinyoung burying his own nose into Jaebum’s neck on the opposite side, making him lose all his ability to _think_. Jinyoung retracted his nose when a hoot approached them, to say, “oh, the train’s coming, Hyung.”

Jaebum regained his thinking ability and something echoed in his mind. He pulled his head back, resisting against Jinyoung’s grip.

“What did you say?”

“I said, the train’s coming, Hyung.”

“No, before that.”

Jinyoung’s cheeks became as rosy as his ears, façade cracking a little. “I said, with broad as fuck shoulders as yours, you’d think you’d be able to produce a little bit of heat, Hyung…”

Jaebum smiled. “Yeah, that.” Maybe, things didn’t have to be so different from his dream.

“What’s so funny about that?” Jinyoung looked at him sceptically.

“Nothing, my shoulders are only so broad to protect people.”

Jinyoung scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Look, who’s protecting whom from the cold…”

Jinyoung stood up from his lap and harsh winds lashed at his exposed chest immediately. Jaebum quickly pulled his zip back up with a sharp inhale.

“Come on, Hyung, let’s go.” Jinyoung held a hand out to Jaebum while his other shook snowflakes out of Jaebum’s hair in a kind gesture. Great fondness made its way back to the forefront of Jaebum’s feelings as he took the offered hand and let himself be pulled up.

Jinyoung was about to take his hand back but Jaebum didn’t let him, pocketing it inside his own jacket instead.

“Hyung, it was just a dream,” Jinyoung said concernedly, façade cracking even more.

“I know,” said Jaebum between gritted teeth but interlaced his fingers with Jinyoung’s inside his pocket.

“I hope this doesn’t become another trauma. After we filmed Fly and Hard Carry, you wouldn’t let me sit alone in a plane, either, and those were just music videos.”

Jaebum grunted. “Don’t remind me.”

Under loud squeaking of the rails, the first wagon of the train came to a safe halt right in front of their feet. Jaebum breathed a sigh of relief.

He lifted his free hand to mirror Jinyoung’s action and shake the snow off Jinyoung’s hair before they boarded the train, stroking the damp but _soft_ strands gently. “Jinyoungah.”

“Hm?”

“Next time, we’re driving and the kids are taking the KTX, all right?”

Jinyoung gave him an openly pleased, crinkly eye-smile that melted his heart. “All right, Hyung.”

“Does your phone have battery?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Call the Maknaes,” he said as soon as they set foot on the train synchronously. A wall of warm air hit their faces and the snow-storm was left behind like it never existed as the automatic doors closed behind them.

Jinyoung pulled his phone out of his pocket with his unoccupied hand and pressed a number on his short-dial.

“Oh and forbid them to shove any object up Youngjae’s nose while he’s sleeping, for god’s sake.”

Jinyoung gave him a strange look but then, Jaebum saw the gears spinning inside his head and Jinyoung’s eyes lit up like bulbs. “Good thinking. Or while he’s awake.”

Jaebum grinned at him toothily. “Or while he’s awake. Can I, at least, finish my thoughts before you steal them?”

Jinyoung broke into a full, blown out grin of his own. “Why stop while I’m so good at it?”

Jaebum exhaled sadly, longing to kiss Jinyoung like he did so uninhibitedly in his dream. Nonetheless, here he stood opposite his supposed soulmate, controlling and restraining himself for yet another day in the history of years.

“What is it? What’s wrong, Hyung? You suddenly look so… changed.”

Jaebum shook his head. “Nothing.”

Jinyoung sighed, disappointment obvious in his features, as if he knew Jaebum was keeping a secret but didn’t want to share it with him.

The train shook their bodies with its starting movement, sparing Jaebum a detailed response. He guided Jinyoung to two free seats securely and Jinyoung talked into his phone as the call got connected. Jaebum took the window-seat and looked at the whirlwind of snowflakes passing by the glass nostalgically. In his pocket, he caressed Jinyoung’s back of hand with his thumb, comforted by the warmth between them.

In hindsight, he didn’t find bearing Busan’s cold half that bad with Jinyoung by his side.

 

 

 


End file.
